One Piece: How did Saturn teleport onto Egghead in episode 1128? Explained

Episode 1128 of the One Piece anime marked a turning point for the Egghead Arc, featuring a thrilling, unexpected plot twist that redefined the trajectory of the future events. Titled The Nightmare Strikes - Warrior God of Science and Defense, Saint Saturn, the installment saw Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the World Government’s Five Elders, finally making his move on Egghead.

Having arrived on the island alongside the massive fleet sent to besiege it in order to ensure Dr Vegapunk’s assassination, Saint Saturn decided to take matters into his own hands as he saw his associates struggling to complete the mission. Admiral Borsalino “Kizaru” was locked in a battle with Monkey D. Luffy, while Rob Lucci was unable to get past Roronoa Zoro. So, Saturn decided to intervene personally.

Saturn teleported on Egghead in an instant, materializing in the center of the island through a circle etched in the ground. The circle unleashed black flames and lightning as Saturn emerged from it, transformed into a frightful creature. Dive into this thread to learn all that is known about this mysterious, never-before-seen technique in One Piece, but be mindful as manga spoilers lie ahead.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1148.

Saint Saturn's magic teleportation in One Piece episode 1128, explained

A shocking plot twist in the latest One Piece episode

Saint Saturn in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Saturn arrived on Egghead as a mesmerizing menace, his ominous entrance on the island, now turned into a messy battlefield, heralding the sinister events to come. A shimmering black circle formed on the ground, accompanied by a voice that informed the lower-ranking Marines scattered on Egghead of Saint Saturn’s incoming arrival, ordering them not to look directly at him as they weren’t allowed to do so.

The circle consisted of a thicker outer ring encasing a pentagram with five number 5s carved in-between its jagged points. Moments after, black fiery energy and lightning erupted as Saturn emerged from the circle, not in his usual human form, but as a grotesque, nightmarish beast. Saturn appeared as a monstrous creature with bovine horns on his head and spider legs in place of his lower limbs, his body cloaked in swirling clouds of black steam.

The lightning from Saturn's magic circle (Image via Toei Animation)

This shocking scene unveiled Saturn’s ability to transform into the Ushi-Oni, a fearsome demon embodying the traits of an ox and a spider. As a Marine soldier dared to look at Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense directed a single, merciless glare at the private, causing his head to explode as a grim warning.

Lucci and Zoro, as well as Kizaru and Luffy, momentarily halted their respective fights mid-clash as they sensed Saturn’s aura. Jinbe was also shown to perceive the sudden onset. The fact that Saturn’s presence drew the attention of such powerful individuals, compelling them to notice his arrival, only highlighted the Elder as a dire threat.

Towering before the group formed by Franky, Sanji, Jewelry Bonney, Vegapunk Atlas, and Dr Vegapunk, Saturn then addressed the scientist menacingly.

The truth behind Saturn's move (warning: manga spoilers ahead)

Saturn about to teleport on Egghead (Image via Toei Animation)

Saturn teleported on Egghead using a magic circle as a portal to summon himself on the island. In the process, he transformed into a demonic creature. While this exact procedure is unprecedented in One Piece, it somehow echoes what happened when the inhabitants of Nakamura Island – the place where Bartholomew Kuma sent Brook – tried to summon a demon.

Brook, propelled by Kuma’s Paw-Paw Fruit, landed in the middle of the ritual circle prepared by the local cultists, prompting them to mistake him for a demon lord from Hell. While Brook’s arrival on Nakamura Island sparked comedic confusion due to the humorous misunderstanding, Saturn’s entrance on Egghead was no laughing matter.

It evoked fear and panic, with Saturn’s ominous aura radiating all around as he took the form of a hybrid between a human and an Ushi-Oni. This demonic transformation is one of the esoteric powers available to the Five Elders, the highest-ranked Celestial Dragons who serve as the World Government’s supreme overseers on direct behalf of Imu-sama.

The demon summoning on Nakamura Island (Image via Shueisha)

The Five Elders can, in fact, morph into Yokai-like monsters – a different transformation for each Elder – as well as access to a number of unique supernatural abilities. These mysterious powers include telepathy, self-regeneration of any wound, seemingly arrested aging, and the ability to use magic circles as portals to teleport across vast distances.

The One Piece manga has delved deeper into the topic, revealing that magical teleportation through the pentagram-like circles is part of a method called “summoning through the Abyss.” While the precise mechanism of the Abyss remains shrouded in mystery, what is clear is that the teleportation works by generating another circle at the summoned person’s original location, effectively forming a direct link between the starting point and the destination.

The manga revealed that this ability is not only wielded by the Five Elders, but also by the Holy Knights, the Celestial Dragons charged with enforcing the World Government’s will and law within Mary Geoise. It was also revealed that bearing a specific mark is needed to perform long-distance teleportation through the Abyss, as unmarked individuals can’t travel.

Saturn's arrival on Egghead in the One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

As the story progressed, Saint Saturn was shown to create multiple magic circles to summon others. In particular, he created four circles to summon his fellow Elders from Mary Geoise to Egghead. With this in mind, it’s clear that the Abyss can be used to summon fellow colleagues who bear the same mark to the caster’s position.

During the Elbaph Arc, the Holy Knights teleported to Elbaph via the Abyss, emerging from a magic circle pre-prepared on the island. Later, they cast another circle to summon additional Holy Knights to Elbaph. Funnily enough, the reinforcements were transported without forewarning, which caused one of them to initially appear in his underwear.

Apparently, the effect of the Abyss summoning stops working if the summoned person moves too far from the designated arrival site to which they have been teleported. This was evident when Saint Marcus Mars was pulled back to Mary Geoise, his original location, after being launched at a great distance from Egghead.

The other Elders summoned by Saturn (Image via Shueisha)

The summoning process can also be neutralized by a burst of powerful hostile Haki, as seen when Emet released a compressed burst of Joy Boy’s Conqueror’s Haki, causing the Elders that Saint Saturn had previously summoned to Egghead to be sent back to Mary Geoise against their will.

As of now, the origin of the Abyss is veiled in secrecy, but evidence suggests a connection with Imu-sama, the supreme leader of the World Government, with authority even above that of the Five Elders. When Imu decided to strip Saint Saturn of his immortality, Saturn’s body crumbled into a charred skeleton after being consumed by black lightning and dark flames identical to the ones unleashed when an Abyss circle is activated.

Looking forward to further revelations, this eerie coincidence fuels speculation about how Imu’s power influences the mystical abilities wielded by the Five Elders and the Holy Knights, including the Abyss.